Solvency II is back on the agenda and many see 2016 as a credible implementation date for the directive, according to PricewaterhouseCoopers partner and UK Solvency II leader Charles Garnsworthy.
The Association of British Insurers (ABI) held its ‘Looking to the Future’ Solvency II Conference in London on 31 October. It covered issues ranging from reporting to third-country equivalence.
Following the conference, Garnsworthy said: “There is definitely a realisation that Solvency II is back on the agenda, and people, right up to board level, are seeing 2016 as a credible implementation date.”
“A number of firms are reappraising whether or not what they have planned is enough. They are currently going through reviews to check that they’ve got the right level of resource allocated to it and they are moving at the right speed. Firms need to check now that they have the right level of resource allocated to Solvency II, and I’m aware of a number of firms that are actively reviewing that.”
The directive has suffered several debilitating delays since its inception. In October, European Commissioner Michael Barnier put forward a draft directive to postpone the Solvency II start date to 1 January 2016.
On issuing the draft, Barnier stressed that he has always wanted a “rapid implementation” of Solvency II, but the planned date for implementation, the beginning of next year, was no longer tenable.
“We have therefore proposed this postponement in order to avoid any legal uncertainty, especially for undertakings and supervisory authorities.”
Asked if he thought the legislation would be further delayed, Garnsworthy said: “There seems to be a very strong political will to reach an agreement now, and I think everybody is hoping that the November 13 Trilogue meeting will give us that agreement. It was clear [at the ABI’s conference] that the devil is very much in the detail.”
“I think some of the features of Solvency II will be adopted around the world. It represents an increasingly global trend around regulation. That trend is towards increasing consistency of capital and prudential regulation.”
